Digest

Published 5:30 am, Friday, July 9, 2004

CONSUMER ISSUES

Huge recall
of toy jewelry

WASHINGTON - Four import companies have voluntarily recalled 150 million pieces of toy jewelry sold in vending machines over concerns that some of it could pose a lead poisoning risk, regulators said Thursday.

About half of the 150 million pieces of toy jewelry contain lead, but because it is difficult to distinguish the lead jewelry from the safe jewelry, the industry decided to recall all of it, the commission said.

The four companies involved are A & A Global Industries of Cockeysville, Md.; Brand Imports LLC of Scottsdale, Ariz.; Cardinal Distributing Co. of Baltimore; and L.M. Becker & Co. of Kimberly, Wis.

The commission said it has received one report of lead poisoning in which a child swallowed a piece of toy jewelry that had been previously recalled. No reports of injury or illness have been received for the recalled products announced Thursday, the commission said.Associated Press

Parents Outraged After Seventh-Graders are Told To Look Up Graphic Images Of Oral SexBuzz 60

TRANSACTIONS

Williams to part
with gas plants

TULSA, OKLA. - Williams Cos. has agreed to sell three natural gas liquids extraction plants in Canada to
Inter Pipeline Fund
for $540 million in cash, Williams announced Thursday.

Inter Pipeline of Calgary, Alberta, will buy the Cochrane and Empress II plants and Williams’ 50 percent ownership in the Empress V plant in southern Alberta in a deal expected to close in the third quarter, Williams said.

Williams expects a $190 million pretax gain in the third quarter from the sale, which also releases to Williams about $30 million in letters of credit and prepayments, the Tulsa-based company said.

ENERGY

Shell says costs up
for Qatar project

Royal Dutch-
Shell Group of Companies
said its plan to build a natural gas project in Qatar and tap the world’s largest field may cost $6 billion, higher than earlier estimates, in part because of a weakening U.S. dollar.

Shell signed a development and production-sharing agreement with the Persian Gulf state to build the plant, which will convert natural gas into naphtha and other fuels. In October, Shell estimated the cost at about $5 billion.Bloomberg News

FAST FOOD

Burger’s name
causes legal beef

ST. LOUIS - A mediator will decide whether Burger King can call its product a steak burger, or if competitor Steak ’n
Shake Co.
has exclusive rights to the term.

A federal judge this week declined Steak ’n Shake’s request to block Burger King’s "Angus Steak Burger" on the grounds that it infringed on the restaurant chain’s "steakburger" trademark.

In a ruling, U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry ordered the two chains to meet with a mediator by September to resolve the dispute.
Associated Press